Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Currently, about 47% of all primary energy demand in Europe is needed for space and water heating. This is even more than the consumption for transport (32%) and electricity (22%). The majority of this (85%) is produced by fossil raw materials, which is very expensive on the one hand, and on the other hand causes great damage to the global climate.

The European Union stated “In order to fulfil the EU´s climate and energy goals for 2020, 2030 and 2050, the heating and cooling sector must become highly energy efficient and largely based on local, sustainable energy sources.”

An energy-efficient heat and cold supply on the basis of renewable energy is one of the greatest challenges for our society. The use of geothermal energy or solar thermal energy is a good solution for energy savings and the reduction of greenhouse emissions. Both technologies could not yet establish well on the market because of the lack of inexpensive and efficient low-temperature heating systems (flow temperature 20-30°C). Established underfloor heatings are very expensive and only installed in new buildings. In addition to that, these systems aren´t able to create a stable healthy comfortable climate, because cold walls and furniture lead to an unpleasant feeling for persons in the room, so even more energy is needed.

Efficient solutions in the heating and cooling sector are essential to handle the energy revolution in Europe and enable to:

- reduce the CO2 emissions- stop the climate change- terminate the extraction of fossil ressources- decrease the air pollution

Furthermore economic benefits can be reached:

- assurance of a stable energy supply- reduction of installation costs and costs in running operation for heating and cooling- costs for climate protection can be saved- imports for fuel, gas and hard coal can be minimized

Therefore the market is looking for new and innovative renewable solutions, especially for the renovation. In order to meet this demand we have developed a new surface heating and cooling element.

Objective of our project “Large enHANCEMENT” (Large Surface Heating and Cooling Element) is the development of market-readiness and the introduction of our system into the market of heating and cooling elements. The new developed heating and cooling panel shall enable a large scale application of low-temperature heating systems. Our element is characterized by the following advantages and therefore perfectly fits the requirements of our target customers:

Large enHANCEMENT is an integral part of the company’s strategy of Freitec and will lead to significant increase in turnover and employees and in the long-term to a CO2 reduced heat supply in Europe and worldwide.

In phase 1 of Large enHANCEMENT, a business plan and a feasibility study have been carried out regarding our elements.

Technical, economical, political, legal, organisational and resource-related feasibility has been assessed and evaluated positive for the business innovation project. Freedom to operate is ensured in all relevant aspects. The project should be continued and accelerated.

Technical adaptions are necessary to ensure the stability of the technical parameter over the whole life cycle. This refers to the optimisation of the impermeability, flow rate, layer thickness, materials and the connection geometry. The transfer to an automatic or semiautomatic production process is vital, to reduce the price with scaling effects, to reduce the production time and to improve the quality of of our elements. In addition to that, the implementation of a quality management system is needed.

Furthermore, the analysis of the business model shows that there are several options to increase the impact of the project potential

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

A detailed feasibility study and a business plan have been elaborated. The feasibility study contains the following points:

- Analysis of the application market heating and cooling in buildings- Analysis of the costumers, their needs and necessary technical requirements- Analysis of key trends and macro-economic factors- Analysis of the business model and possible ideas to modify and optmimise the current model- Analysis of possible developments, which could be integrated in our system- Financial analysis including selling scenarios and growth potential

The business plan is clear, measurable, realistic and achievable and shows the big potential in business and environment protection. In addition to the market, costumers and the business model, the company and the technology (unique selling points) are presented, a concrete implementation plan is elaborated and risks and chances are evaluated. A risk mitigation strategy is developed and will be consistently pursued.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The Large Surface Heating and Cooling Element of Freitec has turned out to be far beyond the state of the art. Freitec can offer a system, which has much less weight, a high energetic efficiency for low costs in installation and in the running process. It´s usable with different types of renewable energy and can potentially be integrated in the building automation.

With Large enHANCEMENT Freitec is able to deeply change the heating and cooling sector and therefore has a high economic and social impact.